


we slipped out of our cagey heads

by wiltedfeathers



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23688760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wiltedfeathers/pseuds/wiltedfeathers
Summary: “About that...” Steve started. Panic started to rise as you remembered the weird looks and rumors about Steve taking someone else. He wouldn't just stand you up like that, would he?“What, are you not going anymore?”“I asked Nancy to go with me. I know I should've let you know way ahead of time but I felt bad about what happened between her and Jonathan that I wanted her to have a good time. As friends, though.”
Relationships: Steve Harrington/Reader
Kudos: 41





	we slipped out of our cagey heads

Steve Harrington had been your best friend since ninth grade algebra class. What started from him asking to borrow a pencil to having the guts to cheat off of your quizzes turned into you offering your tutoring services to help him pass and blossoming a solid friendship over the course of three grades. By the time senior year came around you two were attached at the hip both in and out of school, which also meant the entire student body assuming you two were in a relationship.

Which explains why everyone was shocked when Steve had asked Nancy Wheeler to Tanya Wagner's party on Friday.

Initially you wanted to believe it was a rumor, considering his history with Nancy two years prior and the fact that you both attended a majority of parties together. There was word going around the school that Nancy and Jonathan had taken a break and Steve had swooped in to get a second chance, which may have explained the weird looks from your peers as you walked down the halls during passing period. You barely noticed Steve's presence as you put your books away, jumping as you turned to close your locker.

“How long have you been standing there?” You held a hand to your chest as you slung your backpack over your shoulder.

“Not long.” Steve faked looking at his watch-less arm before looking back up at you, “Three minutes. What'd you bring for lunch?”

“Peanut butter and jelly. Mom's still out of town and my dad's not really a culinary genius.”

The two of you walked side by side down the hallway, still meeting the confused stares of your peers as you walked to your usual lunch spot. _Did everyone know something you didn't? Was there something Steve wasn't telling you?_

“Everyone's been acting weird since passing period.” You spoke as you dug your lunch out of your backpack. “Is my outfit okay? I keep getting stared at.”

Steve chuckled and shook his head. “You look fine, don't worry.”

“Thanks, but it still doesn't explain why I keep getting weird looks from everyone.” You shrugged, taking a bite of your sandwich. “Are you in on this, Harrington?”

“Not that I'm aware of, no.” He took a bite of his own food before speaking again. “Oh, but I did want to talk to you about Tanya's party on Friday.”

“Are you still picking me up at the same time?”

“About that...” Steve started. Panic started to rise as you remembered the weird looks and rumors about Steve taking someone else. He wouldn't just stand you up like that, would he?

“What, are you not going anymore?”

“I asked Nancy to go with me. I know I should've let you know way ahead of time but I felt bad about what happened between her and Jonathan that I wanted her to have a good time. As friends, though.”

“Oh.” _That's_ why everyone was looking at you weird. You took another bite of your sandwich to help you swallow back your tears, taking a deep breath through your nose as you chewed. “That's cool. I'll see if my mom can give me a ride or something.”

“I'm glad you're cool with it.” Steve smiled at you before scarfing down the rest of his lunch. Thankfully, you didn't have much else to say to him after that.

* * *

“I thought you were going to the party with Steve.” Your mom asked when she found you curled up on the couch, cuddling one of the pillows. You sat up to make room for her. “It's all you've been talking about for the past week.”

“I was until he asked Nancy.” Your mother frowned and rested a hand on your shoulder, which you shrugged off. “It's fine mom, really.”

“I know you well enough to know that this isn't a situation that's just 'fine'.” Okay, she got you there. You frowned and fidgeted with your fingers to fight the tears that were brimming, sighing to yourself.

“I love him mom. I really do.” Her frowned deepened when she noticed your teary eyes, pulling you into a hug. “Then he went and asked Nancy and I didn't want to stand around at some party watching them together.”

“I know sweetie.” She squeezed your shoulders and kissed the top of your head. “Seeing the person you love with someone else is hard, especially when the other person doesn't know. If it's meant to be then he'll hopefully come to his senses and realizes that he's got something good right in front of him. If not, then it's his loss. You're beautiful and strong and it takes an idiot not to see that. I made sure to raise you that way for a reason.”

All you could do was hug your mom tighter until your tears subsided. She proposed a night of ice cream and bad movies to get your mind off of things. Those feelings resurfaced the following morning much to your dismay and you spent a majority of the weekend distracting yourself. Your mind raced over scenarios of what happened at the party between Steve and Nancy, trying your best to not speculate about what happened after. It only made you mope around more as you worked on chores and attempt to get homework done.

The sound of the doorbell pulled you out of your thoughts and you were surprised, but not shocked, to see Steve, relief washing over his face when you answered.

“You're okay!” He practically jumped for joy as he lit up at the sight of you, confusion washing over your own face.

“Why wouldn't I be?” You asked.

“You didn't show up to Tanya's party last night.” Steve started, stepping around you and into your living room. “I tried calling you but I kept getting sent to voicemail.”

Panic crept up as you closed the front door behind you, hoping that the fake smile on your face would help brush this conversation under the rug. “Family stuff. Mom needed me to help out.”

“Uh huh.” Steve raised an eyebrow at you but his eyebrow was raised in suspicion, causing your palms to start sweating. “Everyone was asking about you. Even Nancy was wondering why you didn't show up.”

_Why did Nancy care about what was going on with me? Couldn't this conversation have happened Monday at lunch? Instead of one on one right now?_

“Huh, interesting.” You didn't make eye contact with Steve as you stepped past him to get to the kitchen. He followed you but stopped to lean against the doorframe which made you even more nervous. Steve continued to ramble about the party and you opened the fridge as you pretended to listen, zoning out as your eyes scanned over the items.

“Are you sure you're okay? You're unusually quiet today.” Steve asked. You snapped back into reality before shooting him a fake smile.

“Yeah, never better. Didn't get much sleep last night.” You lied through your teeth which made Steve raise an eyebrow again.

“Okay, but what's really going on? Why didn't you sleep?” He asked. _God, he knew you too well_. You sighed to yourself before shutting the fridge door and looking up at the ceiling. Letting out a breath you finally looked at your best friend face to face.

“I didn't go to the party last night because I didn't want to be a third wheel for you and Nancy. I like you Steve and not just as a best friend but I couldn't sit around all night watching the two of you. I didn't say anything because I knew how much you liked her and I didn't want it to cause an argument or ruin our friendship. I stayed home and cried to my mom about how stupid this crush was because I know you only see me as a friend.”

A brief pause and the realization that you made a mistake washed over. Your cheeks went flush and you broke eye contact, Steve standing there dumbfounded. Quickly you distracted yourself from crying by pretending to rummage through the cabinets, pulling out ingredients for a peanut butter sandwich.

“I only asked Nancy because I didn't think you wanted to go with me.” Steve piped up. It was your turn to raise an eyebrow at him.

“You thought I didn't want to go with you?” You asked. He nodded.

“I thought you were getting bored of always hanging out with me.” Steve shrugged. “I like you as more than a friend too and I have for a while now, but I didn't want you to think it wasn't true or that I was saying it to get in your pants.”

You blinked at Steve as he continued to ramble, your brain scrambling to catch up with your heart and process what you just heard.

“I even asked Nancy what to do and she told me to talk to you and tell you how I feel. I was gonna tell you last night but you didn't show up and I almost didn't come today but I know if I didn't say anything today I would've been too nervous to bring it up again.”

You stopped what you were doing to look at Steve who had stepped closer to you, nervous smiles on both of your faces. He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and he stepped closer to cup your face, his warm breath tickling you from the close proximity.

“You know if I kiss you it no longer makes us best friends.” Steve spoke quietly.

“Then kiss me.” You whispered.


End file.
